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Scribus => Beginner Talk => Topic started by: poppingmad on May 07, 2023, 12:37:14 AM

Title: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on May 07, 2023, 12:37:14 AM
I downloaded a template from LULU for a "lulu-book-template-all-small-landscape" and it has indesign templates.  I open it and it opens up 8.5x11 in the page format and ignores the templates dimensions.

(http://www.mrbrklyn.com/idit/scribus_error.jpg)
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: AdmFubar on May 07, 2023, 04:33:10 AM
works fine with the interior portion of the file.
in 1.5.8 there seems to be an issue. I cannot edit any part of the template. Not sure if i'm missing some type of locking on the file. I tried saving as a .sla and reloading, but that hasn't cleared the issue.

Found where to look to unlock the object. Had to really dig into the items in the Outline window. Prolly when you import a template everything should be unlocked as the default as you will most likely will be editing everything in the template. scratch that, everything would be unlocked when importing a foreign format template. Once in scribus' native format it can leave the lock status as is on loading.
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on May 07, 2023, 05:32:27 AM
nothing seems to work with it at all.  I had to create the file by hand although I have no idea how to create the interior safety zones.
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: a.l.e on May 07, 2023, 03:41:10 PM
i went to

https://www.lulu.com/publishing-toolkit ,

downloaded

lulu-book-template-all-a5.zip ,

unzipped, it and -- with a fairly new scribus -- opened

lulu-a5-interior-template-spread.idml .

it looks mostly fine to me.

what exactly did you do to get the above result?
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on May 07, 2023, 07:40:44 PM
well you edited the image of the broken result from the message, so I suppose you don't see what is wrong.

Can you unedit it and put the image back so people know what I was talking about?
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on May 07, 2023, 07:42:15 PM
Quote from: a.l.e on May 07, 2023, 03:41:10 PMit looks mostly fine to me.


It is not fine at all.  It is completely broken and useless.

Refer to the posted image.

You also downloaded the wrong template.
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on May 07, 2023, 07:48:38 PM
http://www.mrbrklyn.com/idit/scribus_error.jpg
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: AdmFubar on May 07, 2023, 09:07:45 PM
What version of scibus are you using?
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on May 07, 2023, 09:16:42 PM
flatbush:[ruben]:~$ scribus -v
qt.qpa.xcb: could not connect to display
qt.qpa.plugin: Could not load the Qt platform plugin "xcb" in "" even though it was found.
This application failed to start because no Qt platform plugin could be initialized. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.

Available platform plugins are: eglfs, linuxfb, minimal, minimalegl, offscreen, vnc, wayland-egl, wayland, wayland-xcomposite-egl, wayland-xcomposite-glx, xcb.

Aborted

It would be nice if it told you

flatbush:[ruben]:~$ pacman -Q scribus
scribus 1.5.8-14 on artix linux
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: a.l.e on May 07, 2023, 09:25:55 PM
hi poppingmad

i did not edit the image, i just made it display inside of your post: allowing other people to see the screenshot without clicking on the link.

concerning the "right template": of course i took another one, you did not give much information about how to get the template you're using, and it was too much hassle to try and find it.

what i tested: are the lulu templates compatible with scribus? in my test, a current version of scribus seems to correctly open the template (but i have no way to check if what i see with with the expected result...)

i gave you the steps i have done. if you want further help from my side, please compare them with the steps you're doing and, if there is a difference, try to adapt your workflow to what i'm doing (since the steps i listed above seem to work for me) and see if then you get something better.
if you don't see any difference, please post a description of the steps you are following (including the page where you are getting the template from, the name of the option you are choosing, the file you are loading into scribus, and the way you are loading it).

have a nice evening
a.l.e
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on May 08, 2023, 01:13:26 AM
Quote from: a.l.e on May 07, 2023, 09:25:55 PMhi poppingmad

i did not edit the image, i just made it display inside of your post: allowing other people to see the screenshot without clicking on the link.

FWIW - that fails to work.  No image apears in chromium or firefox

Quoteconcerning the "right template": of course i took another one, you did not give much information about how to get the template you're using, and it was too much hassle to try and find it.


Although it might not be apearent, I was very specific.  This is the link

https://assets.lulu.com/media/templates/book/lulu-book-template-all-small-landscape.zip?_gl=1*rrhlpc*_ga*MjczOTUyOTIwLjE2ODM0MDA2MTM.*_ga_E4HSQJ4YSL*MTY4MzQwMDYxMy4xLjEuMTY4MzQwNTk2NS4wLjAuMA..&_ga=2.230561438.303806114.1683400613-273952920.1683400613

that gives file lulu-book-template-all-small-landscape.

It is the 9x7 landscape for less than 80 pages.



Quotewhat i tested: are the lulu templates compatible with scribus? in my test, a current version of scribus seems to correctly open the template (but i have no way to check if what i see with with the expected result...)

i gave you the steps i have done. if you want further help from my side, please compare them with the steps you're doing and, if there is a difference, try to adapt your workflow to what i'm doing (since the steps i listed above seem to work for me) and see if then you get something better.
if you don't see any difference, please post a description of the steps you are following (including the page where you are getting the template from, the name of the option you are choosing, the file you are loading into scribus, and the way you are loading it).

have a nice evening
a.l.e
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on May 08, 2023, 01:26:01 AM
Quote from: a.l.e on May 07, 2023, 03:41:10 PMi went to

https://www.lulu.com/publishing-toolkit ,

downloaded

lulu-book-template-all-a5.zip ,

unzipped, it and -- with a fairly new scribus -- opened

lulu-a5-interior-template-spread.idml .

it looks mostly fine to me.

what exactly did you do to get the above result?

I open this with scribus
/home/ruben/docs/a5/lulu-book-template-all-a5/lulu-book-template-all-a5/Interior Templates/InDesign Spreads

I get an unusuable document that can not be edited and has a box to the fasr right that can not be fully seen or reached with the mouse.
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on May 08, 2023, 01:52:04 AM
 BTW - try the cover template.  that just fails for the A5 version you downloaded .  scribus says it is a broken file
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: a.l.e on May 08, 2023, 08:40:39 AM
good morning popping mad

nomen est omen... but i would love it, if you could take your time to formulate coherent replies and avoid letting your anger shape your posts.

back to the specific issue:

- i have now opened "Interior Templates/InDesign Spreads/lulu-small-landscape-interior-template-spread.idml" from the link you have posted and it mostly shows ok (there is a problem with the footer that i have now reported as https://bugs.scribus.net/view.php?id=16938 ; bleed, pages and all other layout elements seem to be sane to me (see the screenshot attached to the ticket)).

- but i still don't know for sure, if it is the file you're opening and how you are opening it (you only mention the folder where you take the file...).

- in the "Cover Templates" folder, i have four different templates... no clue which one is broken for you. but if one of them is indeed broken with the current scribus code, it is for sure worth to report it to https://bugs.scribus.net . please specify which one is broken for you.

have a nice day
a.l.e
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: a.l.e on May 08, 2023, 10:30:42 AM
from what i understand now from one of your recent posts, you seem to have opened

lulu-a5-interior-template-spread.idml

and got an unusable result.

while i got a rather good result with the same file.

you might need to get a newer version of scribus.
or if you're new to scribus (and generally layouting) you might need to learn more about it.

this having being said, from what i understand from the little information you're giving, scribus seems to correctly open the idml on your computer and the main issue might be that you don't know how to use it.

as an example, you need to be on the correct layer in order to be able to edit its items and the box on the far right might just have been placed there on purpose by lulu, because you're not supposed to have them in the resulting pdf (this is how i understand it)

scribus is not the most intuitive software. but page layout is not the simplest task either: some degree of complexity (and learning time!) is probably unavoidable.
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: utnik on May 08, 2023, 05:02:13 PM
Quote from: a.l.e on May 08, 2023, 10:30:42 AM...you might need to get a newer version of scribus.

i just tried the cover template and the interior template with scribus 1.5.8. the .idml files work fine (except the footer issue...) and the .pdf files work as well, but need some tweaking as the bleeds seem to be integrated in the final page size...

utnik
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on May 10, 2023, 02:30:04 AM
Well, I am using the latest version 1.5.8 and it doesn't work.  I tried it on windows as well, and it also just doesn't work.  Maybe your not using scribus?  I had a friend try it as well and it didn't work for them either.  I posted exactly the outcome of the indesign import.  One can clearly see the two different overlaping images AND the templates are not editable.

So it seems to be broken and it is 0-3 in the computers I can actually see. 

It is a little hard to get a fix when there is no admision of a problem.
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on May 10, 2023, 02:33:13 AM
Quote from: a.l.e on May 08, 2023, 08:40:39 AMgood morning popping mad

nomen est omen... but i would love it, if you could take your time to formulate coherent replies and avoid letting your anger shape your posts.

back to the specific issue:

- i have now opened "Interior Templates/InDesign Spreads/lulu-small-landscape-interior-template-spread.idml" from the link you have posted and it mostly shows ok (there is a problem with the footer that i have now reported as https://bugs.scribus.net/view.php?id=16938 ; bleed, pages and all other layout elements seem to be sane to me (see the screenshot attached to the ticket)).

- but i still don't know for sure, if it is the file you're opening and how you are opening it (you only mention the folder where you take the file...).

- in the "Cover Templates" folder, i have four different templates... no clue which one is broken for you. but if one of them is indeed broken with the current scribus code, it is for sure worth to report it to https://bugs.scribus.net . please specify which one is broken for you.

have a nice day
a.l.e

I am using the saddle stitch, but I don't think it matters.
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on May 10, 2023, 02:34:44 AM
Quote from: utnik on May 08, 2023, 05:02:13 PM
Quote from: a.l.e on May 08, 2023, 10:30:42 AM...you might need to get a newer version of scribus.

i just tried the cover template and the interior template with scribus 1.5.8. the .idml files work fine (except the footer issue...) and the .pdf files work as well, but need some tweaking as the bleeds seem to be integrated in the final page size...

utnik

the pdf is fine but that is not an edibale file so it is not much of a template.  Fortunately, I can use it to make the correct dimensions in scribus.
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: utnik on May 10, 2023, 05:48:56 AM
hello poppingmad

Quote from: poppingmad on May 10, 2023, 02:30:04 AM...I posted exactly the outcome of the indesign import...
ok. that was the missing point! you shouldn't import anything. just open the template with scribus!

Quote...AND the templates are not editable...
yes they are. but first you need to ungroup them.

utnik
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on May 10, 2023, 12:55:17 PM
Quote from: utnik on May 10, 2023, 05:48:56 AMok. that was the missing point! you shouldn't import anything. just open the template with scribus!

Quote...AND the templates are not editable...
yes they are. but first you need to ungroup them.

utnik


When you "open" the template from LULU it throws up a popup window and then imports the file into scribus. 

After that, the templates are not usable.  They just look like this:

http://www.mrbrklyn.com/idit/scribus_error.jpg


I have twwo non-matching objects - a page design that looks like it is 8.5x11 and the 2 sample cover pages.  Non of it is editable.  All I can do is delete the 2 pages and then if I reverse that by stepping back through the undo - THEN I can actually move the two pages, but I still can't edit it.  I tried copying the pages  and tried opening a new doc with them, but that also fails to work, or I don't know how to do it.
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: utnik on May 10, 2023, 01:19:37 PM
hi poppingmad

what i see in your screenshot looks like a file imported in a document of different page orientation and size.
is this really what you get by opening the template without an open file?

utnik
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: PatJr on May 10, 2023, 02:50:44 PM
Hi popingmad,
one quark about scribus is to select an object, the layer that the object is on has to be unlocked AND selected, scribus wont select objects from layers other then the one currently selected

try selecting the blue and black objects with different layers selected
also, the object can be locked too
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: Aleks100 on May 11, 2023, 09:18:41 AM
Quote from: PatJr on May 10, 2023, 02:50:44 PMone quark about scribus

 :)
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on May 15, 2023, 01:49:02 AM
Quote from: utnik on May 10, 2023, 01:19:37 PMhi poppingmad

what i see in your screenshot looks like a file imported in a document of different page orientation and size.
is this really what you get by opening the template without an open file?

utnik

EXACTLY
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: utnik on May 15, 2023, 05:42:57 AM
ok.
try this one... (https://filehorst.de/d/eqhDfgEr)

utnik
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on June 11, 2023, 05:44:51 PM
Quote from: poppingmad on May 10, 2023, 12:55:17 PMWhen you "open" the template from LULU it throws up a popup window and then imports the file into scribus. 


It doesn't give you that choice.  I have moved on the the 6x9 interior and it likewise is not edible and broken. 

You can go

file=> open from template.... but there is no option to use the template you downloaded from lulu which is somewhere in ./Downloads

When you open from
File => /some/path/downloads/lulu-book-template-all-small-landscape\lulu-book-template-all-small-landscape\Interior Templates\InDesign Spreeads\lulu-small-landscape-interior-template.idml

It opens and says it converted...

Then I get a nice completely uneditable document

NOTHING I can do affects it and makes it editable.  Even if I copy the file to a new local or save it under a new name.  It will not edit.
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: utnik on June 11, 2023, 06:59:43 PM
Quote from: poppingmad on June 11, 2023, 05:44:51 PM...I get a nice completely uneditable document

NOTHING I can do affects it and makes it editable.

have you tried the files i sent you?
they are editable, but you must select the correct layer. the cover uses two and the interior four layers. (kept from the original lulu template...)

utnik
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on June 11, 2023, 07:18:38 PM
I saw that you asked me to download those files from the internet, but I have a security policy that prevents me from doing so.  I really need to edit the LULU templates, or I will have to build the bleeds etc for the interior from scratch.
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: Nermander on June 11, 2023, 09:26:49 PM
I just tried to download the template and open it in Scribus 1.5.8 and it seems that as default Selecting is turned off for all layers (the rightmost checkboxes). By checking them and selecting the right layer I can edit the contents.

LayersPNG.PNG
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: utnik on June 11, 2023, 10:40:32 PM
hi nermander

Quote from: Nermander on June 11, 2023, 09:26:49 PM...it seems that as default Selecting is turned off for all layers (the rightmost checkboxes)...

i never touched this box. as long as you're on the right layer, you can select and edit the items anyway. it looks as by checking this box you allow to select the objects, even if a different layer is active. (just tested with scribus 1.5.8, 1.5.9.svn and 1.7.0.svn...)

utnik
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: Nermander on June 12, 2023, 08:38:38 AM
For me it was not sufficient to just select the layer. I selected the Text layer and tried to double click one of the text frames and it was not possible to edit before I ticked those boxes.
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: utnik on June 12, 2023, 12:18:24 PM
hi nermander

the main text frame on the first page is on the layer "notes". that's the reason why you can't select/edit it from the layer "text" without checking the "select object" box.

utnik
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on June 21, 2023, 11:13:05 AM
Ah - that is major progress.  I can at least select things now,
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on June 21, 2023, 11:14:21 AM
Quote from: utnik on June 11, 2023, 10:40:32 PMi never touched this box. as long as you're on the right layer, you can select and edit the items anyway.

Are you using the most up to date version of Scribus on Linux?
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on June 21, 2023, 11:27:13 AM
Quote from: utnik on June 12, 2023, 12:18:24 PMthe main text frame on the first page is on the layer "notes". that's the reason why you can't select/edit it from the layer "text" without checking the "select object" box.

I have no idea what you are talking about but I see nothing like this. 

In the Layers Window I see Notes - Turn Off...

But that is meaningless.  "Turn Off" is not an option.
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on June 21, 2023, 11:31:00 AM
Quote from: utnik on June 11, 2023, 10:40:32 PMi never touched this box. as long as you're on the right layer, you can select and edit the items anyway.


It definitely doesn't work as your describing here.  He is correct and you HAVE to make them selectable.  And how would you know what layer you are on?  I see no interface for that, like there is in the GIMP.
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: PatJr on June 21, 2023, 02:51:01 PM
should show some indicators
highlight layer and an indicator on the status bar
Title: Re: LULU templayes
Post by: poppingmad on July 05, 2023, 06:59:13 AM
Quote from: PatJr on June 21, 2023, 02:51:01 PMshould show some indicators
highlight layer and an indicator on the status bar


It doesn't do that in linux, and the interface doesn't look like that.  You need to go to the layers selection from the windows menu item on the menu bar.

Now, I am working on it and I see that all my edits are on the NOTES layer.  This is not what I intended.  Without getting into any criticism of the software design, I'm wondering how do I delete the "Notes" layer or edit what is under it.  Or is it even needed.  I just put in 2 hours of work creating text and images on that layer.  Maybe I should just go forward with it.   Even better would be to copy stuff from the "Notes" layer to a other layers.